My one and only
by yeyeo
Summary: Part 1 Shizuru has troubles that she hides, but Natsuki unconsciously picks them up. What's going on? Will Natsuki figure things out before everything crashes down on her?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Hime or Mai Otome. All copyrights are reserved for the appropriate personnel and companies.

Notes: Gakuenchou – Head of the school

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The summer's pride was beginning to set outside the window, rendering its golden rays free to toy with their upcoming shadow counterparts. Through the frames of the stylish windows, the Charming Amethyst could be observed pouring herself another cup of the brownish tea, and positioned comfortably on the velvety black couch of her private quarters. The gentle melody of soothing music enveloped the room, painting a portrait of calmness not unlike the mistress of the room.

Shizuru took yet another one of her many sips from her favourite cup, basking in the serenity which surrounds her. Despite the perfect picture of tranquil, the troubled depths within her wine red eyes bespoke the otherwise.

She drank in her cup of warmth again, the action graceful and composed like always. Her thoughts, however, rampaged ungainly in her head as _the_ single date revolved continuously alongside with them, persistent as a fly.

It wasn't always difficult when _that_ date came around the corner, but it's just not the case this year. This was different… so very different. A week was all she had left to deal with what had to be done.

Letting a small sigh escape from her, she was surprised when soft lips pecked her cheeks from the side as a familiar scent wafted by her.

"Ara… when did you come in?"

"Just long enough to hear you sigh." It was both a question and a statement.

Shifting slightly so that the weary Gakuenchou could take a seat beside her, she pondered over the response that she should give to Natsuki.

Deciding not to answer her subtle question, Shizuru brushed it off, choosing instead to talk about something else. "I was just reminiscing… How did the meeting go?"

"Horribly. That purple-haired brat kept on insisting that it was not allowed for us to-" Natsuki suddenly found herself pulled into a tight embrace as an extra weight added to her left shoulder, "-scrimp on the celebrations…" she added lamely. _Shizuru…?_

"I missed you, so very much." Shizuru murmured into her neck. "If only I didn't have to go on another mission so soon and could stay here for a while longer…"

_What had you troubled enough to sit alone like this and sigh?_

Wordlessly, pale porcelain hands found their way around the sleek waist of the older woman, holding her in place and creating a safe haven for the both of them. Leaning forward slightly, Natsuki laid her head onto the nearest shoulder and helplessly gave Shizuru a comforting squeeze with her arms. In the growing darkness of night, the two Pillars stayed connected to each other - physically, mentally – each making up for the loss they'd felt when they were without each other.

_Let time freeze over and encase us in eternity, my Natsuki…_

They stayed motionless, still locked in that desperate embrace that eased away all the countless worries each had about the other.

… _That way, you wouldn't have to worry about losing me…_

Natsuki pressed a gentle kiss onto the full lips of the woman she loved before slowly breaking away from the embrace to lean back on the comfortable couch, relaxing her tired muscles with a weary sigh. At the cute sight the raven-haired Gakuenchou presented, Shizuru couldn't help but tease her. After all, old habits die hard.

"Ara… Na-tsu-ki."

"Yea?"

"You're so lazy."

"Huh?"

She shot Shizuru a quizzical look.

"Natsuki is starting to have bad breath. Did Natsuki not brush her teeth this morning?"

Shizuru frowned, her brows knitting together. However, she was trying her best inwardly to not giggle in front of the other woman.

"I did brush my teeth! And I most certainly do not have bad breath, Shizuru."

"Ara… I must be losing my touch. Natsuki doesn't seem to believe what I say… Oh… what is this sudden sadness welling up inside of me? Tears?"

The tanned haired woman let a lone tear of mirth slide down her cheek.

"Ahh!! No! Don't cry, Shizuru. Ok, I'll go brush my teeth again to get rid of the bad breath."

Shizuru grabbed the fleeing arm of her beloved, pulling her back into a casual embrace. "Just kidding, Natsuki," she murmured into the ears of the Gakuenchou, "I'll want you even you hadn't bathed for days and smelled like something gone bad."

"I swear that all the declarations of love you gave to me today are pampering me too much…"

_Something's not quite right._

"… All I want is your promise that you'll never hide anything from me, Shizuru."

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Sleepy forest eyes pried themselves open as her body registered the absence of heat that usually radiated strongly from the sleeping form of Shizuru. Staring at the empty navy blankets beside her, Natsuki wondered where the chestnut-haired woman could have gone at this late hour. Snuggled safely in the cozy sheets, she was torn between further slumber and the slight worry she held for her significant half.

_She should be resting… her journey back here from Florence must had been draining. _

Her brows furrowed at that thought. Finally deciding that she would hunt down the 'lost' woman, she moved to dislodge herself from the alluring bed – but the faint sound of the doorknob twisting and the slight creaking caused by the door opening prompted her to fall back between the sheets and under the pretense of slumber.

Natsuki watched the moving silhouette in the dim conditions as it approached the bed with silent steps. The caress of the pale moonlight seemed to cast an ethereal glow on the older woman and bringing forth an unworldly image of her; and Natsuki was enchanted by the true beauty of Shizuru.

_She looks so fragile… and so vulnerable under the moon…_

Shizuru climbed silently into the bed, unaware that her companion was conscious and not asleep. Settling down in the sheets once again, she turned to the side to face her beloved, slightly stunned to see concerned emeralds looking back at her. Nevertheless, she gave Natsuki a little smile, before shutting Natsuki and the world out of her vision.

_I must have roused Natsuki when I was going back to bed… _

"Shizuru…"

"Go back to sleep, Natsuki. You need your rest."

_These midnight… troubles… are definitely irksome._

"What were you doing outside?" Natsuki asked, her instincts screaming out inwardly at her. The Shizuru she knew was, despite appearances, a deep sleeper who couldn't be easily woken up before the time was right.

"I went out for a short walk around the grounds for some fresh air, that's all. Don't worry about me having a rendezvous with someone else in the middle of the night because Natsuki is my one and only." She replied seriously, opening her eyes just so that she could peer into Natsuki's troubled orbs and assure her that everything's fine.

At the older woman's declaration, the pale porcelain face of the Headmistress flushed tomato red, "I wasn't worried about that, but you're acting a bit strange today. Did something happen during your trip to Florence?"

Shizuru closed her eyes, appearing as if she was in deep thought. The raven-haired woman waited patiently, hoping that Shizuru would finally tell what had been troubling her in the evening. Stroking the fluorescent tan strands of hair, she cuddled closer to the mistress of the beautiful hair, inhaling the faint musty tea scent surrounding Shizuru. Natsuki lay on the bed and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then she heard it……

The soft snores of the slumbering Charming Amethyst.

_She's asleep already?! Grr… Shizuru!_

But Natsuki didn't have the heart to disturb her angel.

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A/N: Hi guys! I'm back! It's been more than half a year since I last wrote anything because school's been a terror to the FF brain cells, so I hope that I haven't lost my touch. This is something I wrote a while back and it would probably be something quite short with perhaps 4 chapters. I'm not exactly sure of the time frame that this can fit in, so… just throw that out of the mind. Hehehe. Hope you'd enjoyed it! Also, it's unbeta'd so do tell me if you spot any errors.

Reviews are food for plotbunnies! Do you have some to spare?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Mai-Hime or Mai Otome. All copyrights are reserved for the appropriate personnel and companies.

Notes: Gakuenchou – Head of the school

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_Days of the beasts count from thirteen down_

_When crimson meets her fellow fiend_

_Dawn will never greet the world again_

_When clocks chime and never end_

_Silence sealed, an agreement_

_Sacrifice etched by day on skin_

_Fates clash, and a world apart_

_Love and death kiss that's the fin'_

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Natsuki snapped her eyes open, and sat up straight in bed with one swift motion.

Bright rays from the sun filled her vision immediately, and viridian orbs narrowed to a slit as the pupils adjusted to the sudden change from dark to light. Squinting around, she tried to find her straw-haired partner but something deep down told her that Shizuru was no longer in the academy. After a few moments of struggle with the clinging bed sheets, the Gakuenchou strode off to wash up in the bathroom.

_You, do not do this to me, Shizuru. _

With a firm expression on her features, Natsuki headed off next to the control room where Youko was residing.

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Shizuru knew that her nano-machines were working at double the normal rate with the continuous flying and that if she fell from the current height of a few thousand kilometers without her wings for support, it would be suicidal; but that did not deter the Charming Amethyst from her goal. Only when her burgundy eyes caught sight the tiny island known only as Hidaka to a privilege few located a few hundred miles to the south of Romulus, did she slow down and prepare to land.

Retracting her violet wings at the final moment, her usually graceful stance took a stumble as she nearly crashed head-on into the soft sand on the beach. She took a short rest, calming her over-worked body and recovering her breath before tired muscles even attempted to move. Blood was seeping through her robe again, as the fresh scab on her shoulder broke with the bad landing.

_Seems like this wound can't be super-healed by the nano-machines… Maybe I shouldn't have been so foolhardy to fly at full speed here without a good rest last night. But time's running out…_

_And Natsuki wouldn't have taken my sudden departure very well too… _

Shizuru picked herself up, feeling stronger with the brief respite. Applying pressure to the bleeding as she walked, she went in search of clean water to cleanse her wound.

Despite the abundance of forested areas, the island remained in a tranquil silence. The light footsteps of the trained warrior could be heard quite plainly with the lack of nature's voices and the knowledge of this disturbed Shizuru, and her instincts screamed danger at every turn. With her injury patched up with some cloth torn from the base of her robe, the brunette made her way stealthily towards the forbidden cave, throwing caution to the wind. Her senses were on full alert for any possible creatures that exist to protect the cave; Shizuru wanted to avoid any confrontations in her current state of health.

-

"_Hi… daka… That's where it lies… Bloodstone… of the heirs…"_

Roused from her sleep, Shizuru thought that she had imagined shadows leaving the room, and the voice that she'd heard in her head. Wincing suddenly, she felt the not-so-foreign sensation of being cut crisply by something invisible. Instead of a double cut on her inner arm, a warm wetness was seeping through the fabric of her robe near her shoulder, escaping through a gash in the skin.

"_Remember… No one… must know… of your task… Child of Viola…" _ghostly whispers blew through with the night breeze, fading into silence once again.

Shizuru sighed, a sound inaudible to none but to herself, released in a drawn out breath of air.

_Not again… This… reminder of my duty and obligation is getting to my nerves. _

Taking care not to disturb Natsuki's slumber, the tanned-haired woman detached herself from Natsuki's warm body and headed to the public bath nearest to their chambers, not wanting to leave any evidence of her injury in their bathroom.

_I don't want you involved in something like this, Natsuki. If doing this protects you, and keeps the world functioning, then I'll definitely succeed in my task, no matter the price._

Under the pale yellow lights, Shizuru inspected her new scar that was shaped like a dragon, the blood making it glow red eerily. In comparison to the lion-shaped scar she received yesterday, this was carved with greater detail. The Otome disrobed and disposed of her bloody nightgown, donning on a similar one after ensuring that the bleeding had ceased.

_Is this some form of ritual? The scars are never deep, but they hurt enough and heal slow… And the creatures carved… were they not from ancient Earth? _

_Only eleven days left… till I find my answers. _

-

_Speed. I need more speed. _

Shizuru ran faster and faster in her school robes, her materialized form more a nuisance than aid in the cramped conditions of the forest.

_If only I could reach the beach before they catch up with me. _

Blood pounding in her chest, she strained her ears as she moved, desperate for any hint to her pursuers' progress. There were no movement behind her; no roars from the beasts, no heavy thumps on the floor from the weight that the beasts should have – there was nothing to suggest anything out of the extraordinary. Adrenaline rushed to her head, and it was the only force pumping the warrior forward.

Shizuru was weary, and the wound on her shoulder was working up again. She knew the forest was full of danger, simply because her opponents were hidden and she was out in the open. Her muscles twitched in response whenever the shadows on the trees moved, and the mounting number of false alarms were taking a toll on her body.

A metallic beast abruptly appeared before her, a forceful paw came slamming down where her face would have been if the Charming Amethyst had not sidestepped at the last moment. Crimson eyes darted to her left, and moments after she had another close brush with death when a razor-sharp claw swiped over her head. Faced with two hulking opponents with surprisingly high agility, Shizuru had no time to catch her breath when the attacks came one after another, each aimed at her vital points.

_With their impenetrable armor, it would be futile to attempt a fight, especially not against two of them. Even if I were to materialize, the lack of any weak points on them wouldn't shift the battle in my favor. Perhaps…_

Dodging yet another sneak attack from the back with a high back flip into the air, the Otome jumped onto a nearby tree and leapt skywards, materializing as she did so. Her wings stretched outwards, preparing for flight, but a large crow-like creature assaulted her, sending the purple clad warrior to the ground again in an ungainly crash.

_I should have known that trouble always occurs in threes. _

"_Get the bloodstone, Child of Viola… Remember your priority…"_

Lips tensed into a grim line as alert burgundy eyes searched for an opening between the two land beasts; the toned body never rested, moving in reflex as if she was on auto-pilot. Panting slightly from the exertion, she put on a sudden burst of speed, dashing past the lion-like beast and rolling underneath the metallic panther. She emerged from between its paws, headed straight back towards the direction she came from.

_Now to get to the cave before I lose all my strength…_

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Tapping her feet impatiently, the raven-haired woman fidgeted in her seat, eyes transfixed at Youko and anxious for the results.

"I'm really sorry, Gakuenchou, but she's not on radar."

"Did you try the co-ordinates that I told you to? That was where her mission was headed for."

"I'm afraid that she's not there."

_Damn it, Shizuru, where are you? _

_This bad vibe that I'm sensing… I can't help but be worried by your secretiveness and this sudden, wordless farewell…_

_I trust you, but whatever you do, please be safe, Shizuru. _

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A/N: I must seriously apologize for the lack of updates! Muse-chan has abandoned me while I was busy with school and I've finally gotten it back these few days. I'll try my best to update (I'm not giving up on this fic) while I'm free during this hols! Contrary to the past chapter, this fic is going to end up much longer than I've expected, and I'll do an estimate of 10 chapters. Hehe…

Hope you enjoyed the read, and reviews as usual, pleases muse-chan. xD


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